The Tampa Bay Rays were wearing road greys with light blue and gold in the opener of a three-game series against the Blue Jays.

However, for their Continental charter flight from St. Petersburg to Pearson International Airport they dressed in black -- just like Johnny Cash.

"I was on the plane looking out the window and there was this sea of black pants and shirts lining up on the tarmac to get on the plane," Rays manager Joe Maddon said.

"We didn't get a lot of reaction from people walking through the airport for the simple fact the bus went on to the tarmac. And we told the people on the plane how we were going to be dressed."

It will be the same late tomorrow when the team heads for Detroit.

Maddon prepped for the trip by asking his wife to colour his hair from white to jet black.

"Carl Crawford said I looked like a professional bowler," he said.

Scott Kazmir told Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times that his manager looked "kinda Goth."

So Maddon headed for a south Tampa store called Squaresville where he purchased three bowling shirts, including one from the Elks Lodge, with the names Pino (his nickname in Spanish), John and Sarge on the chest.

Why ask millionaires to buy into wearing black, especially when few are Johnny Cash fans, and some have never heard of him?

"It helps build a team and speaks of risk building," Maddon said. "We went to Miami once and had an all-white trip to build team character."

From across the diamond during batting practice last night, the wise, grey locks of Maddon could not be seen. Then, emerging from the dugout, came the manager looking 15 years younger.

Maddon thought his team was too uptight so he coloured his hair to loosen them up before the Texas Rangers series to change their luck and to get ready for the tour. The Rays took two of three from the Rangers.

"He has a rule now 30 minutes after the game -- win or lose -- we play Ring of Fire in the clubhouse," ex-Jay Gregg Zaun said. "This team is so young usually you hear hip-hop and rap after games."

INSPIRATION

Maddon said that after a loss hearing Cash's Ring of Fire means the day is over, "time to forget about it." And after a win, the end of the song means "it's time to focus on the next game."

The last time Maddon dyed his hair was in 2002 as bench coach with the Anaheim Angels, when they won the World Series.

These Rays need more than some hair colouring and a wardrobe change to make the post-season after losing the World Series to the Philadelphia Phillies last year. They began last night's game three back of the Boston Red Sox in the wild-card race.

"We've been applying too much pressure on ourselves," Maddon said. "Winning was a relief, losing was painful, that's not us. Win or lose, I want it to be 30 minutes and move on.

"We got to the Series last year by being free-spirited and permitting ourselves to go out and play openly with risk-taking and not worrying."